| [Oct. 22nd, 2017|09:50 pm] |
The white wolf sighed, a hot gust that ruffled his hair. Then she pulled him in against her chest, burying him in thick, iron-scented fur and her deep, slow heartbeat. Beneath the long guard hairs, her fur was softer than any blanket.
He felt the massive muscles in her neck stretch as she leaned out again. There was a crack of electrical discharge; she sneezed. Her avalanche voice rumbled through Ryouma's bones. "I suppose you all want the same?"
Ryouma's hearing was back. This time, he caught the timbre of Kakashi's snarl, if not the sense. It sounded deeply obscene.
The grey wolf growled nastily. "You're letting them go?"
Ryouma twisted in the white wolf's grip, managing just enough of a turn to see through the curtain of fur. The black wolf yawned massively and shifted one paw back. "She decided. You'll abide." It sniffed curiously at Raidou, splayed flat on the stone. "This one is injured." The other paw pulled back, baring Kakashi and Kurenai.
Kurenai rolled, staggered, and made it to her feet just long enough to drop down again next to Raidou. Kakashi blurred.
A lightning-step from Kurenai's side to Ryouma's, iron-hard fingers digging into Ryouma's shoulders, dragging him from between the white wolf's paws and shaking him til the world rang. "What were you doing?" Black tomoe spun in his scarlet eye. His skin was pale, scraped, his hair filthy with dust.
"Somebody had to," Ryouma said, dazedly. If his knees buckled right now Kakashi would probably punch him, not hug him, but it was tempting all the same.
Kakashi's fingers dug bruising-deep into Ryouma's shoulders, then dropped. He seized Ryouma's arm, turning it over to check the bite. Two identical puncture wounds on the underside were already clotting. Kakashi's breath hissed out through his mask. He released Ryouma's arm and reached up instead to cup his face.
Ryouma froze.
Kakashi's gloves had grit in the palms, and his fingers were rough with abraded callus. The heels of his hands braced Ryouma's cheekbones; his fingers curled in Ryouma's hair. He shook Ryouma's head again, but more gently, as if he'd sunk from fury into despair.
The white wolf bent down, and her massive tongue dragged up Ryouma's shoulder and the side of his face.
Kakashi snarled. His right hand whipped down and up, shuriken glinting toward the wolf's eyes. She leaned back, avoiding easily. Kakashi dropped his other hand to Ryouma's right wrist and dragged him away, back towards Raidou and Kurenai and the black wolf's dubious shelter. His stride didn't even hitch when he stooped down to scoop up Ryouma's discarded armguard.
Raidou was sitting up, Kurenai's bracing hand on his shoulder and a new bruise starting on his jaw. Breathing shallowly, but not whistling. The black wolf sniffed at him again. Kurenai glanced up nervously, but Raidou was looking at Ryouma.
"New rule," he rasped. "No volunteerin' for limb loss."
"I wasn't volunteering." Ryouma tried to crouch beside him, hampered by Kakashi's shackle-grip on his wrist. His own breathing seemed to be going shocky-short now, matching Raidou's. He wondered if he could sit down.
Better not. He scrambled for thoughts. "Your ribs—"
Raidou grabbed him, hauled him down, and locked both arms around his head.
Ryouma's knees gave out. He thumped down, bent almost double, right wrist caught behind his back and the left hand somehow clutching at Raidou's armor. His breathing skidded past control; he could feel himself shaking. A few moments more, and he'd come apart.
They couldn't afford it. The wolves were watching, and Genma was still missing. He dug his fingers into Raidou's armor straps, and then pushed himself away. Raidou released him with a reluctant little oof of pain; Kakashi didn't.
"Your ribs, Taichou," Ryouma said. |
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